In ear earphones, also known as ear canal earphones, in ear earplugs, or in ear monitors (IEM), are earphones designed to seal the user's ear canal during use and are used inside the human auditory organs.

The functions of in ear headphones

This sealing generally provides two functions:

(1) Reduce the interference of external noise on music: In noisy environments, you can enjoy music at a relatively low volume without being affected.

(2) Providing a closed environment greatly reduces leakage: increasing the texture and volume of low-frequency sound, and enhancing the expression of music details. These earphone ducts will be connected to the earmuffs and inserted into the front half of the ear canal, creating a sealed listening environment. Many high-end in ear earphones even customize eardrums for customers to provide optimal comfort and perfect sound insulation.

Basic composition

In ear earphones are sometimes commonly referred to as earplugs. It refers to headphones that are small enough to fit into the ears. There are two main types: earbud (non in ear) and canalphone (in ear).

Earbuds are worn in the open area of the ear, usually outside the ear canal. They can communicate with; The form of a headband or ear loop is used to increase wearing comfort, but because they do not penetrate the ear canal, they naturally do not form a sealed listening environment.

Relatively speaking, canalphones/IEMs are partially inserted into the ear canal, creating a sealed listening environment. The reason why many websites mistakenly label IEM as earbud is because they are not unaware of this layer of difference.

operational principle

Compared with earphones, Active noise control earphones do not provide better noise reduction effect although they are larger in size. And people usually think that the sound quality of many noise cancelling headphones is at best second rate (compared to the price you pay for them). In contrast, in ear headphones do not sacrifice sound quality while being smaller in size.